Innovation and R&D have always been the essential foundations of a strong, sustainable defence industry. Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper, Defence Industry Policy Statement (DIPS) and Defence Integrated Investment Program (DIIP) acknowledge the importance of successful Defence R&D and innovation to the nation’s defence industry and thus to Australian defence policy. The 2020 Defence Force Structure Plan reinforced these foundations.
EX2 was set up by Dr Gregor Ferguson, a defence industry and innovation analyst and consultant, to make a useful contribution in Australia’s new and welcoming defence business environment.
EX2 helps innovators in Defence, the research sector and industry, and especially SMEs, by providing news and insight about innovation in Defence and adjacent sectors such as space, aerospace and resources.
Gregor Ferguson writes, teaches, advises and runs a national program designed to encourage and reward innovators in the defence, aerospace and maritime domains in both industry and the research and academic communities.
View his bio here (PDF opens in new window).
Dr Gregor Ferguson, Ph.D, BA (Hons), MRAeS
The Royal Navy is set to purchase 20 uncrewed boats from the Kraken Technology Group in a contract worth £12.3 million ($23.3 million) as it looks to build on its ability to merge both crewed and uncrewed forces. The procurement…
Florida-based L3Harris Technologies and Californian company Shield AI have successfully demonstrated a first of kind autonomous Electronic Warfare (EW) integration, combining L3Harris’ electromagnetic battle management ecosystem known as Distributed Spectrum Collaboration and Operations (DISCO) with Shield AI’s Hivemind mission-autonomy software. The…
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) will make a $200 million hybrid note investment in ASX-listed cloud, cybersecurity, and telecoms provider Macquarie Technology Group. The NRFC is a sovereign investor established by the Australian Government to invest in Australian businesses…
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the US Navy have selected Anduril Industries and its Dive-XL autonomous submarine to participate in the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) Project. This project aims to address a persistent operational gap beneath the…
The Geelong-based AMDA Foundation Ltd, which organises the Indian Ocean Defence & Security (IODS) 2026 expo, has named the ten finalists in the IODS 2026 Innovation Pitchfest and Awards which spotlight the ingenuity shaping Australia’s maritime and defence future. This…
Defence’s Canberra-based Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) has released a Request for Information (RFI) for the ASCA Pitch Day 2026 – Resilient Command and Control (C2). ASCA Pitch Days provide industry and academia the opportunity to present their idea to…
Defence will acquire 40 Australian-designed and built Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USV) under a $176 million, five-year contract to enhance the Royal Australian Navy’s undersea warfare capabilities. The funding, announced by Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence,…
Sydney-based DroneShield has established a European counter Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) manufacturing facility at an undisclosed site in Belgium. This marks a major expansion of the company’s European footprint and manufacturing capacity, says DroneShield in a media release, and follows…
Fort Worth-based Bell Textron Inc has successfully held the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the next-generation aircraft demonstrator, designated the X-76. This milestone allows construction to begin on the platform that is the focus of the Defense Advanced Research Projects…
Researchers at the University of Sydney have built an ultra-compact Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip that is able to make calculations using the power of light, at the speed of light. Their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrates how AI…
